The inevitable question

[mikehepro]

Hey guys I'm having this weird thoughts lately.
I came across the inevitable question: what happens when we die?
We are basically removed from this whole world and the only thing remains is memory.
Heaven? Hell? Rebirth? Nothingness? But those are all only theory with no solid evidence.
So why are we here at all?
Disturbing question.
Any thoughts?

[Limista]

I've actually always wondered what happens when we die - it is indeed a scary thought.   

Option 1) we fall into "nothingness". Just complete and total 'blackness'.

Option 2) we become like Dumbledore at Kings Cross Station. This would be my optimum death 

[mikehepro]

Ahhahha. But threre's scientific evidence that on the exact moment a person die they lose weight, which suggests "soul" is leaving the body.
So if a person dies and fall into "nothingness",  really all the effort and everything you did in your lifetime is....pointless? People tries really hard and earn money etc, but really you can't take any of them with you when you die. It's not like you can spend it in a possible "other" world

[mark_alec]

Ahhahha. But threre's scientific evidence that on the exact moment a person die they lose weight, which suggests "soul" is leaving the body.

There is not.

[Russ]

Have...have you been reading Dan Brown?

[Professor Polonsky]

The interpretation of a soul being a physical thing is extremely interesting, and leads on to rather strange conclusions.

[mikehepro]

There is not.

Ahhaha this guy did a research on it, but it might not be accurate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duncan_MacDougall_(doctor)

[mark_alec]

That research is not accurate.

[brenden]

Remember that time before we were in the womb? Me either. That's where we go when we die ;]

[mikehepro]

That research is not accurate.

I agree the fact that this experiment might not be accurate but there's several experiments with the same attempt and different results, but their conclusion are similar: that "soul" do have a weight. It might be true that various factors might affect the outcome of these experiments. But do you believe soul as a physical thing? From birth, most people have been taught that soul is a spiritual thing, so it might be the reason that a "physical" soul is so hard to believe. Meh it's really something we can't justify.

[brenden]

Uh. I think the science you're referring to is probably closer to pseudoscience. How they would isolate a soul as a variable is beyond me.
Your previous post also just assumed that there is a soul, I mean, by asking "do you believe soul as a physical thing" - you're assuming that it IS a thing, but still trying to decide if it is physical or not.

I'm not too sure that I believe in a soul.

[pterozachtyl]

Just assume there isn't, and if there is, you'll get a pleasant surprise. It's not something knowable, so why worry?

[brenden]

Just assume there isn't, and if there is, you'll get a pleasant surprise. It's not something knowable, so why worry?

Hmm, going by this logic, wouldn't it be better to assume there is one and have your expectations pleasantly fulfilled, because if they aren't fulfilled it's not like you'll ever know about it? (Pretty much just summarised Pascal's wager)

[Russ]

I agree the fact that this experiment might not be accurate but there's several experiments with the same attempt and different results, but their conclusion are similar: that "soul" do have a weight. It might be true that various factors might affect the outcome of these experiments. But do you believe soul as a physical thing? From birth, most people have been taught that soul is a spiritual thing, so it might be the reason that a "physical" soul is so hard to believe. Meh it's really something we can't justify.

Can I see some links to these experiments and their findings, thanks. The soul as a physical thing is not something that is accepted or commonly investigated.

[Professor Polonsky]

Can I see some links to these experiments and their findings, thanks. The soul as a physical thing is not something that is accepted or commonly investigated.

Yes.

And seeing that we've just about scanned the entirety of the human body, we must be missing something quite important if we can't find the soul.

A physical soul is a silly proposition. On the other hand though, a metaphysical soul may exist, and there are damn good arguments for it (philosophical zombie)